work search and career development blog

What’s your motivation?

Is it dangerous to live without something to strive for or against? Is it naive to think we can achieve great success without the driving motivation that comes from ideas we hate or fears we have?

For most job-seekers, when it comes to finding work the drive is economic. Being out of work simply isn’t a luxury… bills need to be paid, food needs to be on the table, and cars need gas, but many times without looking at our fears do we leap too quickly at another opportunity without thinking. Fear can sometimes be good since it pushes us into trying things we’d never have considered before, it can also shake us out of our complacency from working in a job that wasn’t suitable or challenging. It’s also easy to forget that our relationship with fear is sometimes symbiotic.

Consider this, dentists need tooth decay since treating cavities provides them with a steady source of income, likewise, exterminators are dependent on termites, and lawyers need crimes and my job depends on people looking for work and therefore being out of work. At times it seems like an uncomfortable relationship to something nasty but it also drives me to help others and perhaps in a perfect world make my profession obsolete.

So what’s your relationship with fear? How does it motivate you? Are you using it to help yourself find work? Are you taking the negative and channeling it towards positive change in your life?

Maybe the next time someone asks if you’re letting your fear drive you, maybe you can say no my fear doesn’t drive me, it motivates me and I wouldn’t have it any other way…

Elaine Logie is a MCACESBlogger and student of the Career Consultant Certificate Program in Hamilton, Ontario. MCACESBlogs was created to assist job seekers and their peers with many aspects of the work search and work maintenance process. Like what you are reading? Be sure to follow MCACESBlogs!